Welcome to the Jungle
by s0me-jerk
Summary: Being a criminal in Liberty is hard, hunting them as bounty is even harder. Follow Steve Spencer through one of the roughest nights of his life in this one shot preview of my story Disposable Heroes (coming soon).


Disclaimer: I do not own Grand Theft Auto or any of the characters portrayed in said videogame. I do however claim creative property of Steve Spencer and Jesse Vegas. In short, if you can't tell the difference between official material and fanfiction, you are probably too dumb to distinguish reality from fantasy...and shouldn't read this story.

Steve Spencer awoke from his dark unconscious sleep. It was the kind where you don't really dream, just lose track of time. The light blue glow of his alarm clock shined on his hand. It was 3:49 AM, and there was no way he was getting back to sleep. His 6'5 frame sat up in bed and looked around his room, but could only make out dark block like shapes. It was time for a walk.

The outdoors didn't excite Steve much either, another dark blocky world unto itself. As he stepped off the hotel property he was staying at he lit up a cigarette. He let it hang from his mouth, casting no light onto his already dark leather jacket. He started to walk through the streets of Liberty City. They seemed to all pass by in a daze, almost having the same glow as his alarm clock. A few people were out, but for the most part the entire city seemed lifeless. That's probably why it was so easy for him, outside of Liberty Memorial Coliseum, to spot the familiar face of Jesse Vegas. That buzz cut, extremely low, those dark black eyes...it had to be him.

If there was one thing Steve liked about being a bounty hunter, it was moments like these. He had been tracking Liberty City's biggest felons since he arrived there a couple months ago. This guy was always on the LCPD website, apparently he'd given the world the slip for about 8 months. Now that Steve was nearly unconscious he had found someone the world was intensely looking for. He smirked a little at the irony as he reached into his pocket and let his cigarette fall from his mouth.

When you snap a twig in the wilderness, it scares off the animal you're hunting. When you smile at your bounty as you pull out a .45 caliber pistol, it has similar effects. Jesse was gone before Steve could even recall what it was he did to attract such attention.

Jesse was ahead of Steve, trying to gain some distance by running past what few civilians were in sight. Steve just dodged the bodies of those his bounty pushed aside or threw to the ground. After hurdling an old lady and her shopping bags Steve was in the clear to fire at his now open target.

The shots rang out, alarming all nearby of what was going on. Steve franticly searched his mind for the crime Vegas was accountable for. Was he the Shore-side Vale rapist? No, what about that guy who killed the sixteen-year-old girl related to a higher up in the local gang Los Diablos? His train of thought distracted him enough that he had lost sight of Jesse.

He looked around at his surroundings; he was across the street from the Panlantic construction site. Next to him was a large stone staircase. Ahead of him were a few green dumpsters. He fired a shot into the blunt side of the nearest bin. A small black object darted from the side of it.

That was merely a distraction as the culprit emerged from behind the dumpster holding a young woman hostage with his own gun. Steve didn't seem shaken by this at all. The only person who seemed nervous was Jesse.

"Stay back pig or I'll blow her brains out."

Steve hadn't really heard anyone speak to him all night.

"The vice cops are here, you're dead now." The girl screamed at her captor.

Once again, Steve searched his mind for what it was this guy was wanted for.

"I'm not a cop..." was Steve's only response.

The girl looked at him in horrified shock.

"I don't protect or serve anybody but myself." Steve said with a cocky tone.

Vegas just smirked at him, as if he were about to come though on his devious promise. That is, if he could. Before he could do any more than jam the gun against the woman's blonde hair, Steve fired a shot right into this forearm. Jesse shoved his hostage forward before dropping his gun and running off clutching his arm as it poured blood like a leaky pipe.

Steve rushed forward to grab the woman before she hit the pavement. From the kneeling position he caught her in he fired off a few shots. None of them hit Jesse as he was already down the street, ducking into an alleyway by a three-story garage.

When Steve entered the dank Alleyway he could see nothing except a few empty garages and several shady auto shops. Steve walked further as the alley lead directly out into an area with two intersections, where Yakuza members and those of the Columbian Cartel were known to have many territorial disputes. He walked out across the street, and stopped on a median. As he looked out upon the off-ramp, the body of water and the corner of the Panlantic site, he inspected his gun to see how many bullets were left in the magazine.

Jesse's jarring tackle from behind sent the gun flying to the sidewalk across the street. Steve could only watch from the ground as it skidded across the pavement and over the edge. A small splashing sound was heard as Steve stood up to start off after Jesse.

The chase went about three city blocks with Steve right behind Jesse, whose biggest mistake was looking back. Steve's fist caught him right in the jaw, sending the 5'9 man to the ground like a rag doll. Steve bent over as he searched his jacket for a pair of handcuffs. The police never gave a reward for dead suspects. Vegas grabbed Steve and pulled him face-first into the pavement, a deaf man could hear the sickening thud it made. Steve rolled out of the way as Jesse's foot hit the ground so hard it jammed his leg bones together. Steve scrambled to his feet and shoved his assailant over by a section of sidewalk that wasn't adjacent to a building. From Steve's perspective it was visible in front of the backdrop of Liberty City Mall and the parking garage he'd chased Jesse by that his bounty-head was still limping. Jesse caught another hard left hand to the face as he stumbled back. Steve delivered blow after blow trying to get him to fall down. Jesse stumbled about bleeding from the nose and a busted lip as he tripped over the rounded edge of the overpass. Before Steve could stop his leg, it had already thrown itself into the midsection of an already falling Jesse. For a second there was no audible sound heard by either man as Jesse seemingly hung in mid air, the handcuffs still dangling. The fall, however wasn't as peaceful, ending with Jesse crushing the hood of a green stallion.

Steve looked over the edge at Jesse's body and smirked a little. No, he wouldn't get any money for his late-night brawl with a criminal, but he remembered what it was Jesse committed: murder, robbery...and grand theft auto.


End file.
